Presser-foot for sewing-machines



G. S. GATCHELL.

PHESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27, 191?.

1 100,537, Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

" 6 1 INVENTOR lygf ziheu Z g 16 B E yiw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. GATOHELL, OF ROSELLE PARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PRESSER-FOOT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented De 20 1921 Application filed October 27, 1917 Serial No. 198,776.

had therein to the accompanying drawings,

This invention relates to sewing machines more particularly of the type adapted to join and cover the raw edges of cut knit goods in one operation as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 185,446, filed August 10, 1917. Machines of the above type-commonly employ a presser-foot having spaced toes and trimming knives adapted to trim oif upturned marginal portions of material passing into the space between said toes; the trimmings being deflected to one side by a chute-or guard so that they will not interfere with the action of the stitch-forming instrumentalities.

In prior machines of the type above referred to, the spaced presser-foot toes constitute relatively fixed and rigid parts of the presser-foot sole-piece; the flat under surface of which presses the work against the teeth of the feed-dog in the usual manner. In attempting to use *such machines for abutting the edge-portion of one ply of material against the superposed edge-portions of two plies of material, as in the formation of the so-called military shoulder in knitted underwear, or in the operation of abutting the folded edge of a flattened tubular button-stay strip to the edge of a single ply of body-fabric material at the front of an under garment, it is found that the two thicknesses of material at one side of the seam serve to lift the presser-foot out of elfective relation with the single ply of material at the opposite side of the seam and, as a result, said single ply of material is not fed at the proper speed. As a matter of fact, in military shoulder work for example,-the single ply of material forming the main body of the garment is cut crosswise of the wales at the shoulder and the superposed pliesof material forming the shoulder strip are cut lengthwise of the wales, thereby rendering it desirable to full in the single ply of material, somewhat in order that the finished shoulder seam may be sightly and undistorted.

An object of the present invention is to devlse an adjustable presser-foot, for use more particularly in joining and covering the edges of cut knit goods in one operation, which will permit the application of equal or unequal pressures to the material at opposite sides of the center line of seam to secure either a uniform or a relatively differential feeding action at the opposite sides at the center line of the seam regardless of the relative thicknesses of the materials joined.

A further object of the invention is to devise a presser-foot for use in connection with the usual four-motion feed-dog to secure a differential feeding action upon the material at opposite sides of the line of scam formation and in advance of the stitching point.

Another object of the invention is to devise a presser-foot which may be so adjusted as to secure a greater pressure upon the work at the side of the seam where a fulling-in action is desired, so that the material at the opposite side of the seam may be effectively retarded as, for example, by the operator in pulling back upon the work at said opposite side.

A further diificulty encountered in the operation of the prior machines of the class described, results from the tendency of the upturned marginal portions of material which pass between the presser-foot toes to lag behind the portions normally abreast thereof which pass under the presser-foot and are positively fed along by the feeddog. This lagging tendency of the upturned marginal portions of material often causes a wrinkling or piling up of said marginal portions in advance of the slot or space between the resser-foot toes and the result is that such wrinkles in striking the tips of the resser-foot toes are often pressed or folded down and drawn under the presser-foot, thereby escaping the action of the trimmer. The above escribed tendency of the upturned edge-portions of material to be drawn under the presser-foot instead of passing into the space between the presser-foot toes is aggravated by the tendency of said edge-portions to curl or lay I guiding slot in the presser-foot.

A further object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a presser-foot having spaced toe-portions whose tips are so shaped as to scoop up and gradually straighten the edge-portions of material as they pass between said toe-portions on their way to the trimming mechanism.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the mechanism adjacent the stitching point of a machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the presser-foot shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a left side elevation of the presserfoot. Figs. 4 and 5 are top and bottom plan views,'respectively, of the presser-foot. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with one of the presser-foot sole-pieces removed to show the mechanism of the auxiliary sole-piece. Fig.

7 is a rear elevation of the presser-foot. Fig.-

8 is a front elevation of the resser-foot and feed-dog with the work in section at substantially the stitching point and showing the foot adjusted to unequal thicknesses of the material. Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the foot adjusted to equal thicknesses of the material; the material being shown in section at a point even with the front end of the presser-foot and the throat-plate in section at a point farther back but in advance of the trimming knives. I

The present invention is preferably embodied in a machine having the constructive features described in my said copending application and including a work-supporting arm 1 which carries the throat-plate 2 and end-cap .3 at its free end. In the head 4 of the machine is journaled the needle-bar 5 carrying the needles a, n a and n which cooperate with a thread-carrying looper 0 to form stitches.

needles to lay covering threads back-andforth across the cut edges of the material being stitched. Trimming mechanism comprising a cutting blade 7 and ledger-blade 8 is also provided to trim the upturned marginal portions of material entering the space between the toes of the presser-foot 9 secured to the resser-bar 10. Disposed beneath the throat-plate 2 is the forward feed-dog 11 having its operative work-engaging teeth 12 disposed substantially in a plane and adapted to rise into engagement with the fabric in advance of the needles through apertures in the throat-plate, all as more fully described in my said cppending application.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the presser-foot 9 comprises'a supporting block orshank 13 having oppositely disposed fiat sides 14 and 15 upon which are pivotally mounted by screw-pins 16 and 17 the similar triangle-shaped sole-piece sup-- ports 18 and 19. Pivoted by means of the Thread-fingers, one ofwhich is shown at 6, oscillate in front of the screw-pin 20 to the forwardly extending lower corner of the sole-piece support 18 is the sole-piece 21 having a heel-portion 22 and a forwardly extending toe-portion 23 which is thinned down at 24 to receive the ledger-blade "8 of the trimming mechanism and terminates in a thickened extremity 26.

The forwardly extending lower corner of the sole-piece support 19 has pivotally secured thereto by means of the screw-pin 27 the sole-piece 28 which extends alongside the sole-piece 21 and, like it, is formed with a heel-portion 29 and a -toe-portion 30 the upper side of which is cut away at 31 to afford clearance for the cutting blade 7 of the trimming mechanism; said cutting blade tured at 35 to receive the needles a, W, n

and n of the stitch-forming mechanism.

The toe-portions 23 and 30 are spaced apart to receive upturned marginal ortions of material which are trimmed o by the knives 7 and 8 and are pressed down into abutting relation by the beveled lower front edge 36 of the lateral extension 34. The triangular sole-piece supports 18 and 19 are formed at their upper corners with slots 37 and 38, respectively, which embrace the respective eccentric pins 39 and 40 formed at the opposite ends of the barrel-shaft 41 journaled within and transversely of the presserfoot shank 13. In the present instance the eccentric pin 39 is disposed above the center of the shaft 41 while the eccentric pin 40 is below the center of said shaft, the object being to secure opposite rocking movements of the sole-piece supports when the shaft 41 is turned in a given direction.

To facilitate manual adjustment of the shaft 41, it is provided with a transverse pin 42 whose outwardly bent upper end serves as a finger-piece. Secured to the side of the shank 13 by a screw 43 is an abutment-block 44 in which are threaded upper and lower stop-screws 45 and 46 adapted to be struck by the opposite end-portions of the pin 42 and thereby serving to determine the extreme positions of adjustment of the shaft 41, as shown in Fig. 2. In practice the upper screw 45 ma be set to arrest the shaft 41 when the so e-pieces 25 vand 28 are at the same elevation, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9, and the lower screw 46 may beset to secure a predetermined difference in elevation, as

to be formed it is desirable that the necessary adjustment of the presser-foot may be quickly and easily effected. This is accomplished in the present instance by shifting the finger-piece or pin 42 from full to dotted line position, Fig. 2. If it is desired to full in the material at one side of the seam, as for example, the single ply s in Fig. 8, the shaft 41 is turned so that the sole-piece 21 presses said ply s more firmly against the feed-dog 11 than the adjacent plies s are pressed by the sole-piece 28. As a result there will be a tendency for the feeddog to slip relatively to the plies s and fail to feed said plies as fast as the single ply s. This action may be augmented by the operator in holding back slightly on the ply 8 while permitting the free advance of the ply s. When the sole pieces are adjusted to produce a differential feeding action, the work may be fed in a curved path, thus producing a curved seam., Such a seam may be useful either in joining together two abutted edge portions of material or in joining superposed plies of material along a curved path. In presenting work of this character to the machine it is to be understood that the plies s and 8 may be advanced to the presser-foot with their edges in abutting relation or the marginal'portion of material at one or both sides of the seam may be fed into the slot in the p-resser-foot and acted upon by the trimmer.

The presser-foot is provided with an auxiliary sole-piece 47 located directly in rear of the needle-aperture 35 and formed with a pair of upstanding ears 48 pivoted at 49 to the lever 50 which is received within the recess 51 at the under side of the presserfoot shank 13 and is pivoted'to said shank at 52. An expansion spring 53 housed within a. bore 54 in the shank 13 presses downwardly upon the front end of the lever 50 to yieldingly maintain thesole-piece 47 in. contact with the work.

In order that the presser foot toes may scoop up and straighten the marginal portions of material as they pass into the space therebetween, said toes are formed at the upper inner corners of said thickened extremities 26 and 33 with concaved fabricing drawn under the toes of the presser-' foot and below the plane of the trimmer.

The present construction is obviously susceptible of material modification within the scope of the invention and is not to be understood as limited to the exact-form and arrangement of parts shown,

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is 1. In a sewing machine, the' combination with covering stitch-forming mechanism and a trimmer, of presser mechanism including spaced toe-portions between which upturned marginal portions of material .are

adapted to pass to the trimmer, said toe-por other during the operation of the machine,

and means for effecting relative bodily adjustment of said portions in a direction transverse to the plane of the feed-dog.

3. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-formmg mechanism and a feeddog having the usual rising-and-falling and feed-and-return movements, of a presserfoot having distinct sole-pieces opposed to said feed-dog and disposed side-by-side at' opposite sides of the line of scam formation, at least one of said sole-pieces being bodily adjustable relatively to the other in a direction transverse to the plane of the work, the adjustment including means for rigidly holding the sole-pieces against relative bodily yielding movement transversely of the plane of the work during the sewing, whereby a differential feeding action at opposite sides of the line of scam is secured.

'4. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism and a feeddog having the usual rising-and-falling and feed-and-return movements, of a presserfoot having a shank, sole-piece supports carried by said shank, sole-pieces carried by said supports and opposed to said feed-dog,

said sole-pieces being disposed side-by-side and on opposite sides of the line of seam formation, and means for adjusting and fixing the Working elevation of at least one of said sole-piece supports to vary the working elevations of said sole-pieces relatively to each other, the adjustment including means for rigidly holding the sole-pieces against relative bodily yielding movement transversely of the plane of the work during the sewing, whereby to secure a differential feeding action at opposite sides of the line of seam.

5. A presser-foot for sewing machines comprising, asupporting shank adapted to be secured to a presser-bar, sole-pieces carried bysaid shank, and means for adjustsaid sole-pieces simultaneously in opposite 1 directions.

8. A presser-foot for sewing machines comprising a supporting shank, sole-pieces carried by said shank, manually controlled means for adjusting theelevations of said sole-pieces simultaneously in opposite directions, and stops for determining extreme positions of adjustment of said sole-pieces.

9. In a sewing machine, in combination, a feed-dog, a presser-foot comprising a supporting shank, sole-pieces carried by said shank laterally of the line of seam-formation and each coacting with said feed-dog'- to feed the material, and a shiftable finger-' piece for adjusting the working elevations of at least one of said sole-pieces relatively to said shank.

10. A presser-foot for sewing machines comprising a supporting shank, sole pieces carried ,by said shank, a shiftable finger vpiece for quickly adjusting the working elevation of one of said sole-pieces relatively to said shank, and a stop forv determining an extreme position of adjustment of saidfinger-piece.

11. A presser-foot for sewing machines comprising, a supporting shank, a slotted sole-piece support carried by said shank, a sole-piece carried by said support, and an adjusting shaft having an eccentric portion entering the slot of said sole-piece support for adjusting the latter relatively to said shank.

12. A presser-foot for sewing machines comprising, a supporting shank, slotted solepiece supports pivoted to'opposite sides'of said shank, sole-pieces pivoted to said sup ports, and an adjusting shaft journaled in i said shank and having eccentric pins at its ektremities entering the slots of said solepiece supports. 7

13. A presser-foot having independent supports pivoted thereto, work-engaging sole-sections pivoted to the supports, and means forsimultaneously moving the pivoted supports in opposite directions.

14. In combination, a feed-dog, a presserfoot comprising sole sections simultaneously coacting therewith and each adjustable relatively to the other, and means for simultaneously adjusting said sections to thereby vary the relative closeness of approach of the sections to the feed-dog.

15. In combination, independently land; pivotally mounted supports, presser-foot sole sections directly pivoted to said supports, and means for simultaneously giv ng said supports opposite angular movements.

16. In combination, a presser foot shank, independent supports movably carr ed thereby, means for simultaneously moving said supports in opposite directions, and presser-foot sole sections movably mounted on said supports.

17. In combination, a feed-dog, movable presser-foot sole sections simultaneously coacting therewith, and means for simultaneously adjusting said presser-foot sectlons in opposite directions relatively to the feeddo I8. In a sewing machine, in combination,

a feed-dog, presser-foot sole-pieces simultaneously coacting therewith and disposed side-by-side transversely of the line of seamformation, and adjusting means including 0 a manually controlled sole-piece shitting element connected to said sole-pieces, whereby they may cause the material to be difi'erentially fed, said adjusting means being constructed to hold said sole-pieces against bodily differential vertical movement during their coaction with said feed-dog.

19. In combination, a feed-dog, presserfoot sole sections simultaneously cooperating therewith on opposite sides of the line of seam formation, and means for simultaneously and instantaneously adjusting the relative distances of said sections from the feed-dog, whereby material of the same thickness on opposite sides of the seam line may be differentially fed, and material of different thickness may be uniformly fed.

20. In combination, a presser-foot comprising relatively movable solesections, a finger-piece for actuating said sections, and adjustable stop means for limiting the eX- tent of such actuation.

21. In combination, a feed-dog, presserfoot sole-sections cooperating therewith and held against bodily differential movement during the action of the feed-dog and means for simultaneously and oppositely adjusting ghe distances of said sections from the feed- 22. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism and a feeddog having the usual rising-and-falling and and fixed against bodily vertical difierential 10 movement during the sewing, and adjusting means including a manually operable finger piece for relatively varying the working elevations of said resser-pieces.

In testimony whereof; I have signed my 15 name to this specification.

GEORGE S. GATCHELL. 

